Higginbotham Adds Two Texas Markets and Forestry Practice with Davis Insurance Agency Merger

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Higginbotham and Davis Insurance Agency announced today the merger of their operations. Higginbotham is headquarted in Fort Worth and ranked by revenue as the largest Texas-based independent insurance broker, and Davis Insurance is an independent broker with a workforce of 26 in its Lufkin home office and Amarillo branch. The union adds East Texas and Panhandle offices to Higginbotham and grows it to 800 professionals and 26 locations statewide.  

This is the fourth merger Higginbotham has completed this year as part of a growth initiative started in 2008. The firm is continually expanding across Texas by partnering with brokers that add capacity to serve more customers and widen its footprint. The merger with Davis Insurance marks Higginbotham's entrance into the Panhandle with the Amarillo office and expands its eastern presence with the Lufkin office.

Both firms offer personal and commercial insurance and employee benefits. Higginbotham has practice groups for industry specialization, and Davis Insurance has developed niche expertise in forest products insurance during 44 years of experience in the sector.

"Davis Insurance has a solid reputation in the forest products industry with companies involved in forest products and the carriers that insure them," said Higginbotham President/CEO Rusty Reid. "Partnering with them opens a door for Higginbotham to serve more logging companies and builds our name in different Texas regions. Both of these factors enhance our ability to be a single source solution, no matter the industry or location." 

Davis Insurance Managing Director Mike Davis added, "We like to say that service is the most important value that we provide our customers, and that's a quality we saw in Higginbotham too. Joining the biggest broker in Texas increases the value we bring because now we can offer so many more services beyond insurance protection, like safety programs and HR support."

Ira and Vera Davis started Davis Insurance in 1949 from their home in Lufkin, Texas. Three generations of Davis men and women have led the firm's growth to more than 3,000 accounts. In 2009 it opened a second office in Amarillo, Texas, to fill customers' need for a local personal insurance broker. 

Davis Insurance will continue operating under the leadership of Managing Directors Larry Davis and Mike Davis at 3110 South First Street in Lufkin and the Amarillo National Bank – Plaza Two in downtown Amarillo.

About Davis Insurance Agency
Davis Insurance Agency is an independent broker offering commercial and personal property/casualty coverage, group and individual health plans and life insurance. Opened in 1949, Davis Insurance primarily serves customers in east Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas from offices in Lufkin and Amarillo, Texas. It has a 44-year specialization in forestry industry insurance. Visit www.davisdifference.com for more information.

About Higginbotham
Higginbotham is a single source for insurance and financial services that brokers business insurance, employee benefits, retirement plans, executive benefits, life insurance and home/auto insurance from more than 250 regional and national carriers. It supplements coverage with in-house risk management and benefit plan administration services. The firm was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with 25 additional offices statewide. Higginbotham ranks as the nation's 31^st largest independent insurance brokerage firm based on revenue, making it the largest Texas-based broker (Business Insurance, July 2016). Visit www.higginbotham.net for more information.

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SOURCE Higginbotham